Chapter 346: I Want to Die
In Doctor Zhao's room, he was currently drenched in sweat as he examined Chen Junnan's wounds.
He felt this situation was quite difficult.
This man's injuries weren't purely cuts; they were mixed with contusions, as if the thing that had left him so scarred wasn't a blade, but sharp cones. These cones had stabbed into his body, then been dragged vertically, creating wounds while simultaneously tearing large areas of skin.
It was impossible for an ordinary person to stay conscious under this kind of pain, yet this man was still awake.
Had he suffered this kind of injury many times before?
"Hey... buddy." Doctor Zhao patted Chen Junnan's face. "You can't fall asleep now. We don't have any anesthetics, just some simple equipment to treat wounds... You need to keep talking to me, understand?"
"Dammit... this young master doesn't understand a damn thing..." Chen Junnan stared blankly at the ceiling, cursing under his breath, his mind seemingly elsewhere.
Doctor Zhao sorted through the supplies that "Heaven's Mouth" had prepared. There were plenty of things like scissors and knives, but they didn't meet medical standards—they were probably just stationery items from the school. There were no needles or thread here. The only thing he could use was probably...
From among the many tools, Doctor Zhao picked up a stapler, opened it to check the staples inside. Since the conditions were already so crude, a stapler might be the best option right now.
Chen Junnan turned his head to look at Doctor Zhao, swallowed hard with a very complicated expression: "Wait... can this young master say a few words?"
"Sure, we need to keep talking." Doctor Zhao snapped the stapler shut, separated the base from the body, and lowered his head to examine Chen Junnan's wound. "While I'm treating your wound, we need to keep chatting. Don't you dare fall asleep."
"You..." Chen Junnan looked at Doctor Zhao helplessly, "I said... every time you treat someone, you seem like a different person..."
"Really?" Doctor Zhao didn't look up. He pinched the wound on Chen Junnan's lower abdomen, then pressed the stapler's body down with a "click," stapling the wound together. Next, he used scissors to bend the protruding staple tips inward.
He found that this method could indeed temporarily close the wound, and the weight on his mind eased a bit.
After all, blood would gradually clot. The only thing they could do now was minimize the wound area to prevent excessive bleeding.
"Hey, don't fall asleep." Doctor Zhao wiped his sweat and said, "Tell me, what are you thinking about right now?"
"I want to die." Chen Junnan said coldly.
"Huh? Oh no, oh no..." Doctor Zhao said somewhat frantically, "This guy is already starting to talk nonsense. It's a shame we don't have the conditions for a blood transfusion here. Just hold on a little longer..."
Xu Qian and Yan Zhichun sat in the corner of the room, watching Doctor Zhao treat Chen Junnan, not knowing how to help.
Yun Yao had left shortly after entering the room, going off to who knows where. Now, only Han Yimo, as well as Old Lü and Glasses who had brought Chen Junnan over, remained in the room.
"Doctor, will he live?" Xu Qian asked timidly.
"I can't say for sure..." Doctor Zhao shook his head. "I'm not good at this kind of injury anyway. Whether he lives or dies is up to fate."
"My fate isn't good... let me die quickly..." Chen Junnan reached out to push Doctor Zhao away but found he had no strength left.
"He's this confused already..." Xu Qian said worriedly, "Even if he's saved, will he be brain-damaged?"
"Sister Qian..." Chen Junnan smiled bitterly at Xu Qian. "Why won't any of you believe me... Can someone just come over and kill this young master?"
A moment later, Yun Yao pushed open the door from outside. She looked at Chen Junnan's injuries, saw that he wasn't dead yet, and let out a sigh of relief.
Behind her followed several people. One was a dark-skinned, delicate-looking girl, Li Xiangling.
Another was an elegant woman in her forties or fifties, Aunt Tong.
The third was a girl wearing very little clothing, none other than Sweet Sweet, who hadn't shown her face in the past couple of days.
Seeing Aunt Tong enter, Old Lü immediately stood up, respectfully rubbing his hands together and said, "Xiao Chan, why are you here?"
Aunt Tong frowned: "Don't call me Xiao Chan... there are so many kids around."
"Hey! Yes, yes, yes!" Old Lü nodded, turned to the others and said, "Teacher Tong is here. Show some respect, all of you."
No one present paid him any attention.
"Sister Yun Yao..." Li Xiangling asked confusedly, "Why did you call me here...?"
Yun Yao thought for a moment and said, "Xiangling, Aunt Tong, Glasses—you were among the few 'Echoers' last time. I want you all to witness something here."
"Witness something...?"
From under the table, Yun Yao picked up the withered, shriveled head of the Earth Serpent and placed it on the table.
Everyone's expressions changed when they saw it.
This thing was neither a mask nor a human head—it was a solid, enormous snake head.
The head of an Earth-level "Zodiac."
"You all..." Aunt Tong asked excitedly, "What is this?"
"Aunt Tong, you're a veteran of 'Heaven's Mouth,'" Yun Yao said. "Please, speak impartially later."
Before Yun Yao could figure things out further, Chu Tianqiu pushed the door open and walked in. Kim Won-hoon, who was usually inseparable from him, did not appear this time.
Chu Tianqiu entered, looked around, smiled slightly, and asked, "What's going on? Quite the gathering."
Yun Yao looked warily at Chu Tianqiu and asked, "Where are Zhang Shan and Xu Liunian?"
"Zhang Shan has taken Xiao Nian on a mission." Chu Tianqiu found a chair and slowly sat down, positioning himself directly opposite the Earth Serpent's head. Yet, as if he saw nothing, he asked Yun Yao, "What did you want to talk about?"
"Since you asked, I'll tell you the truth." Yun Yao reached out and straightened the Earth Serpent's head, making its dead snake eyes face Chu Tianqiu. "Today, a man staked his life and killed a 'Zodiac.' In other words, something you, Chu Tianqiu, haven't been able to accomplish in all these years leading us—he did it."
"Oh?" Chu Tianqiu raised an eyebrow. "That's really impressive. Where is he? I want to meet him."
Yun Yao paused. This classroom wasn't that big. Doctor Zhao had been treating Chen Junnan's wounds the whole time. Was Chu Tianqiu pretending not to see him?
"That man is Chen Junnan." Yun Yao said. "His existence proves that betting one's life against an Earth-level 'Zodiac' is not inevitably doomed. As long as we have a solid strategy, extraordinary courage, and a barely usable 'Echo,' anyone can challenge the 'Zodiacs.'"
Aunt Tong and Li Xiangling turned to look at Chen Junnan's injuries. They felt that Yun Yao seemed a bit fixated. Although this man hadn't died outright, he wasn't much different from dead.
"So it was him?!" Chu Tianqiu stood up excitedly. "That's wonderful. It looks like he's more suited to be the leader of 'Heaven's Mouth' than I am, right?"